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Simply disappointed
05/10/2010

Pros:

Hear it's a fast card.

Newegg granted a one-time exception so I could just RMA the card.

Cons:

Card is way to picky about what systems it will work in.

Got the card last Tuesday and installed it that night. I was very disappointed to find that while the system powered on and made all the right beeps & noises I never got even a blip of video out of the card. Contacted Powercolor support and they insisted that my PSU was marginal for the card (550 watt SeaSonic) and that unless I was willing to swap it out for a more powerful unit there wasn't much they could do to help. This despite their own product page calling for at least 450 watts

To date I have tried the card in 4 different systems (2 Intel, 2 AMD) each one equipped with at least a 500 watt PSU and with 5 different PSU's in the board that I actually purchased the card for.

Out of all those systems the card has worked in exactly one, ironically one with an old 485 watt Enermax PSU. In that system it POST's, loads Windows and will even run the FurMark stability test for an hour.

Have not heard back from Powercol

Other Thoughts:

This card has a replacement-only return policy on it.

Kudos to Newegg for being kind enough to grant me a one-time exception and issue an RMA so I can simply get my money back.

I think Powercolor's suggestion that the 550 watt PSU was inadequate to be suspect given their posted product specs (card has a 108 watt TDP).

It's a shame because I really wanted this card to work, and given that this card seems to be simply a reference design it's tough to say if a replacement would actually fix anything at all.

Manufacturer Response:

The thing about power supplies is that the wattage only tells a small part of the story. It's safe to follow the "quality over quantity" rule in this case. I'm not saying Seasonic makes bad power supplies, but we could have a compatibility issue on our hands. Either way, we know the card works because you mentioned it working on an Enermax PSU. Enermax makes quality power supplies, especially their older units. Either way, you might not have a choice but to go with something a little more compatible with your setup. I doubt replacing the card is going to fix your issue based on your results. Feel free to e-mail me at hugo@powercolor.com and I'll follow-up with you. Thanks.

-Hugo

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